From Now Until Forever
by BonJeanne
Summary: Henry visits Elizabeth's farm house for the first time. 98% fluff.


From Now Until Forever

 **This is entirely fluff because why not?**

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"We're here!" Elizabeth exclaimed as they turned into the driveway of her childhood house, though house was a bit of an understatement by Henry's standards. Born into a working-class family with three siblings, Henry viewed the horse farm and the house next to it as a luxurious mansion of his dreams. He was entranced by the rustic charm of the place until Elizabeth tugged on Henry's sleeve, urging him to get out of the vehicle. "Let's go get unpacked and then you can meet the horses!"

Elizabeth popped the trunk, and Henry helped to carry their suitcase inside. He stopped abruptly when she opened the front door. The interior was just as glamorous as the outside: marble countertops a massive fireplace was just what he could see from the foyer. It would have felt homely, had it not been for the lingering sense of tragedy that rested over the residence. The walls were completely bare save for the portrait of a smiling young couple. They both rested their hands upon the woman's swollen belly. Henry squinted at the date on the bottom and saw that it was taken just two weeks prior to Elizabeth's birthday.

"That's a beautiful photo," Henry said as he gestured to the portrait.

"It's one of my favorites," Elizabeth responded with a soft smile. As they admired the picture, Henry couldn't help but to notice the striking resemblance between his girlfriend and her mother. He inwardly wished that he could have met the two people in the photo who brought such a wonderful person into his world. Sensing that the mood was drifting to a more melancholy place, Henry nudged Elizabeth. "C'mon, I want to see your stuffed animal collection."

Elizabeth smiled with a childlike gleam in her eyes and jogged up the stairs. She lead him down a hallway to a door that had an "Elizabeth" name plaque on it.

"Ta-da!" Elizabeth threw open the door to reveal a bedroom that clearly belonged to a child in the middle of a horse-craze. Posters of horses took almost every available bit of wall space. Overflowing bookshelves wore faded stickers, and Henry counted at least five horse-like doodles on the desk that looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in years. On top of the dresser, there were several small horse figurines. The best part by far, though, was the bed. The sheets, as well as the quilt, were made out of a unicorn patterned fabric, and one of the pillows had "I love horses" embroidered in purple thread, as if it weren't obvious. On top of the neatly made bed sat a well-loved plush horse. He couldn't judge, though. After all, his childhood bedroom houses the same level of obsession but with planes instead of horses. Just a few months ago, he had shyly shown Elizabeth his bedroom and introduced her to Mr. Cuddles, the teddy bear he had gotten for his second birthday and never parted with. Elizabeth picked up the stuffed animal with a guilty grin and announced, "This is Pegasus."

"You are absolutely adorable," Henry said and kissed her cheek. "Let's go meet your real horses."

As they entered the barn, a middle-aged man came to greet them. 'Dr. Tee! It's good to see you," Elizabeth said. "This is Henry, my boyfriend."

"Hi Dr. Tee, it's good to meet you." Henry shook his hand.

"Henry, Elizabeth mentioned that you were going to meet the equine members of the Adams family." All three laughed. "Well, Miss. Adams, I've got good news for you. All five horses have a clean bill of health."

"How's Lady? She's due soon, right?"

"I was just getting to that," the vet said and ushered them to the large stall at the far side of the barn. A chestnut made paced back and forth, occasionally pawing at the floor. "Lady appears to be in the early stages of labor. If everything goes smoothly, you should have a brand new foal by early evening."

"Wow," Elizabeth breathed. Upon hearing her voice, the horse walked towards the gate. Elizabeth gently stroked the horse's muzzle and whispered, "You're going to be a mom! Isn't that amazing!"

"Since this is her first foal, I'll be sticking around just to make sure that every goes okay. I'll call you when it's time." Elizabeth nodded in response, not taking her eyes off the horse. Henry approached cautiously, wary of an animal that he had only ever seen the ought a car window.

"Lady, this is Henry. Henry, Lady," she introduced them, and the mare bumped his arm affectionately. "Do you wanna go for a ride?" She asked, her excitement pure and childlike.

The idea of riding a horse scared him, but he couldn't turn her down when she made those puppy dog eyes at him. "I've never ridden before, but sure."

Thrilled at his response, she said, "Okay! I'll get two horses tacked up, and maybe you could pack us lunch? I was thinking we could go on a trail ride to the lake and have a little picnic."

Not 15 minutes later, Henry returned with two sandwiches, sliced strawberries, and creme fraiche. Elizabeth attached the bag to her saddle and handed him the reins of a the reins of a grey horse with a black mane. "This is Misty. She's a sweet old mare. She's very gentle and great with beginners."

"And who is that?" he asked, nodding his head towards Elizabeth's horse.

"This is Bailey. He's the father-to-be. He can be kind of a jerk sometimes, but he's a wonderful riding horse." With the help of Elizabeth, Henry mounted, and they set off on a small trail through the forest that surrounded the property. They rode, mostly in silence, enjoying the sounds of nature. Henry, having been raised in a city, enjoyed the stark contrast between the noisy streets of his youth and the serene woods of Elizabeth's. The trees were rustling in the breeze, and the birds sang from their lofty branches. The path they'd been following lead to a clearing with a crystal blue lake. Elizabeth smoothly dismounted and tethered her horse to a worn hitching post. She then attempted to help Henry who not-so-gracefully landed on top of her, knocking them both to the ground.

"Babe are you-" they said at the same time, and burst into laughter. Once they untangled their limbs, Elizabeth took the reins as Henry unpacked their lunches. He sat down under the shade of a tree, resting his back on the sturdy trunk.

"It's beautiful here," he said, and she nodded in quiet agreement. Elizabeth settled between his legs so that her back was resting on his chest. Henry wrapped his free arm around her waist to keep her as close as possible. They talked and joked as they ate, eventually lapsing into a comfortable silence. Henry slowly kissed his way up to her jaw starting where her neck met her shoulder and stopping just behind her ear.

"I love you," Elizabeth murmured.

"I love you too," he replied. She broke their embrace momentarily to turn around and straddle him in order to kiss him properly. They were lost in each other and would have been in a full-blown make out session when Bailey pawed the ground and snorted impatiently as if to say "get a room."

Elizabeth laughed. "Okay, okay. Bailey, you're right: We should start heading back now. Lady needs us!"

As they rode back, Henry couldn't help but to daydream a future where they lived on a horse farm. In this dream world, he saw Elizabeth teaching three young kids how to ride. _Their_ kids. Henry shook his head to bring himself back to reality. Yes, they were in love, but they were young and had yet to discuss the future. After all, they both had to finish college, and he was to do active duty as a part of the ROTC program. It wasn't that he was unsure about them- he was dead sure that she was the one from the get go- it was just that his mind had jumped straight to having kids, and the idea of being a father, especially given the strained relationship with his own, was nerve-wracking to say the least.

"Henry! Look out for the fox!" Elizabeth's voice jerked him out of thought just a moment too late. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the small creature dart into the tree line. He felt his horse rear up. The sudden change of his center of gravity caused him to lose his balance. The ground grew bigger and bigger until his body collided with the ground with a loud thud. Elizabeth quickly dismounted and grabbed both sets of reins to prevent either horse from running off. "Henry! Baby, are you okay?"

He groaned. Landing on his side had knocked the wind out of him, and his entire left side hurt, but it was probably nothing worse than an ugly bruise. It didn't feel like anything was broken. The skin of his hand stung, probably scraped open. "Can you walk? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

"Babe, I'm fine," Henry said and stood up with a grunt. _Yeah_ , he thought, _that's going to hurt tomorrow._

Elizabeth grabbed his wrist to inspect his bleeding palm. "No, you're hurt. Let's just walk back. The barn is only about 100 yards away." Henry spent the entire walk assuring her that, really, he was fine, that that the scrape on his hand was nothing worse than when he fell off his bike as a kid, and that, no, it wasn't her fault. When they reached the barn, Elizabeth took the horses and Henry headed to the house. He made his way upstairs and into the bathroom. He sat on the counter and took some deep breaths. His ribs, though they throbbed in his chest, weren't broken.

"I ordered us a pizza. Also, I found the first aid kit and an ice pack," Elizabeth said as she entered the bathroom. She inspected the broken skin on his palm, concern written on her face. "Let's get this cleaned out so it doesn't get infected, okay?" She turned on the sink and ran warm water over the injury. She gently patted it dry with a towel and said, "I'm going to put some antiseptic on it, so it might sting a little bit."

It did sting, but Henry hardly noticed. For the second time that day, his mind drifted to their fantasy-future family. The soft, reassuring tone that she used as she bandaged his hand reminded him of his own mother. _Elizabeth's kids are going to have a wonderful mom,_ Henry thought. She brushed her lips against his knuckles. "Take off your shirt. I want to see your ribs." Henry bit back a flirty comment about taking off her shirt and did as he was told. She skimmed her fingers over the beginnings of an angry bruise. "Is it broken? Should be go to the hospital?"

"Nah, I just got the wind knocked out of me," he said and pressed the cool ice pack to his skin.

"Do you want Tylenol? Advil? Anything I can do?" Elizabeth asked, still worried.

"You can kiss me." She laughed, pleasantly surprised by his request. Their height difference was exaggerated by the counter, so she took advantage of this and his state of shirtlessness to kiss his collarbone. She went on her tiptoes to trail her warm lips up her throat. Henry grabbed her hair with his free hand and pulled her back a little. He bent down, ignoring the protest of his ribs, and their lips met in a fiery kiss. The phone in her room rang, and they reluctantly broke apart.

"Hello?" Elizabeth answered it, voice a little breathy. Henry smirked in private satisfaction. "Yes, thank you! We'll be right down."

"Pizza's here?" Henry guessed.

She shook her head. "Nope. Better! Lady's about to have her baby. Want to come with me?"

"Okay," Henry said, and quickly followed her down the stairs to the barn. On the way, he realized that he'd never seen the live birth of anything- unless, of course, he counted the time his second grade class watched a chicken hatch. Even when his younger siblings were born, he'd always arrived at the hospital after the fact.

"You're just in time," Dr. Tee whispered. Lady was lying on her side, breathing heavily. Henry spotted the two front hooves poking out from just beneath her tail. Mere minutes of hard pushing and soft encouragement, the head and the rest of the body followed. The vet opened the white sac that enclosed the foal. The newborn lifted its head and began taking in the sights of the new world.

"Hey there, baby," Elizabeth cooed. "He's a bay, just like his mom." The two men nodded in agreement. Lady stood up and began cleaning the foal. After a few tries, the foal stood up on shaky legs. Elizabeth and the vet exchanged surprised glances.

"That was quick," Dr. Tee said. The horse began nursing, and Lady whinnied in content. Henry felt Elizabeth squeeze his hand as they took in the purity of the moment between mother and newborn.

"Well, mom and baby seem to be doing great. I'll stick around for a few more hours, and then I'll be back in the morning. Congratulations!" Dr. Tee said.

"Thank you," the young couple said together. They watched for a few moments more, then left the barn, arm in arm. They entered the house and kicked off their shoes in the hallway.

"I wonder what our kids will look like," Elizabeth mused aloud. Henry cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her. Her jaw dropped when she realized what she'd implied and began sputtering, "I mean, not that I, uh- The pizza guy is probably lost. I should-" As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and she scurried to the door. Elizabeth returned to the kitchen with the pizza box, refusing to meet his eyes. "I got us the triple meat pizza; I hope that's okay."

"Babe." Henry touched her arm. She swallowed nervously and continued to focus her eyes on the table. "Our kids are going to be beautiful." Elizabeth finally met his gaze with eyes sparkling with hope. He couldn't help but to smile.

"Really?" she asked, as if there was even a question in his mind. "I mean... In the future, you want to be the father of our children?"

"Yes. It would be an honor. And I'll be honest: thinking about having kids freaks me out. We're both still in college, and there's a lot we haven't discussed about the future. But the thing is, when I picture myself five or ten or twenty years from now, you're there too. And when I remember that you're there, I'm not as scared. I get excited about all of the things we have yet to do. Elizabeth, babe, my future is a future with you in it," Henry said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden rush of fear. _What if she doesn't feel the same way?_

"Oh Henry!" Elizabeth tackled him in a fierce hug. He embraced her, all doubts washed away, holding everything he could ever ask for in his arms. They stood like that for a moment, tangled up in each other and dreams of the future, until Henry's stomach rudely interrupted to demand food. They ate the pizza and sipped on wine, the atmosphere light and hopeful. Afterwards, they retired upstairs to Elizabeth's bedroom.

"Good lord, this bed is tiny! How on Earth are we both going to fit?" Elizabeth gestured to the twin bed that was definitely not designed for two full grown adults.

"Well," Henry said with a mischievous grin, "I know something that might help us-" he kissed her "- settle in."

Seeming to catch on to his game, Elizabeth threw him a wink. "Wanna help a girl get comfortable?" she asked and bit her lip in that completely irresistible way.

Henry playfully pushed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her. "It would be my pleasure."

After they _got comfortable_ , Henry was dozing off with his arm lazily draped over her waist when Elizabeth rolled onto her back, rousing him from his light sleep.

"Henry?" Her voice sounded hesitant and somewhat distant. Sensing that she wanted to talk about something important, Henry propped himself up on one elbow so that he could see her face.

"Yeah, babe?" He smiled down at her reassuringly. She tried to return his smile, but her eyebrows were furrowed like she was worried.

"Do you think I'll be okay mom?" Elizabeth asked quietly. "I mean, you'll be a great dad. You're a good man, strong but kind, and a compassionate listener. They're going to have a wonderful role model." His heart swelled at her compliment. "But me? I'm just a terrible cook and somewhat of a workaholic. What if I turn into the kind of mom that never sees her kids because she's 'too busy?'"

"Babe, first of all, don't worry about the cooking. I've got that covered. Secondly, you've always been able to make time for us. I'm sure you'll find a way to make time when there's more than one of us." Henry paused to brush a lock of hair off of her face before continuing. "When you were wrapping my hand up today, you reminded me of my mom. When I was little and I fell off my bike or kids beat me up, she would always patch me up. My dad would usually say something like 'real men don't cry' or 'quit the sniveling!' My mom would just tell him to piss off. She let me cry as long as I needed, and she never let me go. You have that perfect combination of tenderness and fierce protectiveness. You love without restraint, and I think that unbridled passion is going to make you the best mother our kids could ever have."

"Henry," Elizabeth said, a shimmer in her eyes at how touched she was by his words. He crouched over her and kissed her tenderly.

"You're gonna be a great mom, Elizabeth. I just know it. Besides, I'll be there. We'll figure it out. Together. I'm not going anywhere from now until forever."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

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 **Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review.**


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